What happened to rivalries?

SpeedPagan

SpeedPagan

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So, I'll be honest. The last rivalries I've seen is Gordon vs. Earnhardt Sr. back in the "good ol' days", and I haven't really seen any rivalries since then. Other sports have rivalries. I mean you have the Panthers and the Falcons be the I-85 rivalries, you have the Dallas Cowboy vs. the Washington Redskin and so on and so on.

When was the last time a story played out in which two or more drivers just went at one another in multiple races? I mean, last year we had some sparks fly and we had some pit row fighting, but by the next race, nothing more comes of it. There's not even any payback at the typical "payback tracks" like Bristol.

Are the days of rivalries in NASCAR over?
 
Texting ruined everything. Before, the next time a driver talked to their rival was on the track the following week. That built some animosity. Now, they can apologize on twitter & texting.
 
Johali said:
Like the instant gratification of most of today's youth they only have a short term memory span.
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Aww, but I like the story lines. The last good rivalry we had beside Gordon vs. Earnhardt Sr. was Stewart vs. Edwards in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. We need more story lines like that IMHO.
 
guess you aren't reading the posts around here. we had a good Jeff/Kez thing going last year, still have some hurt feeling Jeff fans. Newman wasn't bad, and then there is always the Toyota/Toyota drivers to kick around. Chase/no chase one of the longer threads. I could go right now over to the Jeff thread, and get a lively? conversation going.
 
gone said:
Legislated away by the NASCAR powers-that-be, as "actions detremental to the sport".
Also somewhat squashed by sponsor pressure.
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More likely the latter . Nascar loves that stuff . It makes for great tv commercials . The politically correct suits at the sponsor's marketing agency insist on zero controversy.
 
VaDirt said:
We also still (at least it sounds like it) have Bowyer/Gordon.
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Thats all media blown out bs. That rivalry died in the offseason. Gordon & Bowyer no longer speak to each other that much but the on track rivalry is no more.
 
Aside from the BS fisticuff rivalries, I miss seeing two drivers who are just flat better than everybody else in a given season going toe-to-toe in the stretch run toward the championship. The new chase format totally obliterates any chance of that happening again, since they can't go more than 3 races without being reset. I think the previous chases gave us some good stretch-run battles though: Jimmie vs. Matt in '13, Brad vs. Jimmie in '12, Tony vs. Carl in '11, Jimmie vs. Denny in '10, etc.
 
ToyYoda said:
Aside from the BS fisticuff rivalries, I miss seeing two drivers who are just flat better than everybody else in a given season going toe-to-toe in the stretch run toward the championship. The new chase format totally obliterates any chance of that happening again, since they can't go more than 3 races without being reset. I think the previous chases gave us some good stretch-run battles though: Jimmie vs. Matt in '13, Brad vs. Jimmie in '12, Tony vs. Carl in '11, Jimmie vs. Denny in '10, etc.
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A lot of Jimmie's in there. :p LOL
 
a couple of quick thoughts...

rivals are most often similarly driven individuals of nearly equal talent that compete for supremacy year after year. the potential was there during jimmie's run, but his challengers were different every year.

multi car teams dominate. hard to have a rivalry when most of your toughest competition is under the same roof.
 
Legislated away by the NASCAR powers-that-be, as "actions detremental to the sport".
Also somewhat squashed by sponsor pressure.
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I was thinking of Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were getting a good rivalry going. But I think the drivers realize to have a long, profitable career you need to play nice. But all the drivers have a long memory when it comes to cutting someone a break on the track.

Gone is right, NASCAR and the sponsors pretty much control how drivers behave now.

I remember Earnhardt Sr and Jeff Bodine having a rivalry were they wrecked each other a lot. I read where Earnhardt finally said "Are we done yet?".
 
Quit parking these drivers next to each other in the motor-home lot. Their kids play together in the confines of the motor-home lot. They go to church together. They hang out with each other. Drivers hang out with other drivers. Wives are friends. Get rid of that and then let the Type 'A' personalities conflict like they should.
 
SpeedPagan said:
So, I'll be honest. The last rivalries I've seen is Gordon vs. Earnhardt Sr. back in the "good ol' days", and I haven't really seen any rivalries since then. Other sports have rivalries. I mean you have the Panthers and the Falcons be the I-85 rivalries, you have the Dallas Cowboy vs. the Washington Redskin and so on and so on.

When was the last time a story played out in which two or more drivers just went at one another in multiple races? I mean, last year we had some sparks fly and we had some pit row fighting, but by the next race, nothing more comes of it. There's not even any payback at the typical "payback tracks" like Bristol.

Are the days of rivalries in NASCAR over?
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Yes. Now drivers have their pit crews do the fighting and they do the interviews.
 
as it is now, probably back then, drivers form clic's/alliances/friendships. there will always be a few who are outcasts. I could care less, just race the dang car. After watching a go kart series on a local channel, I can see why there are so many drivers who seem more like robots, they have been jumping thru the political correctness hoops for years when they get to Nascar. As it is, when certain drivers win the race in Nascar you can almost mouth the words at the same time. Pretty predictable. The driver excitement last year because of the new chase is a step in the right direction.
 
It is only natural to establish friendships when working/living together over a long season. Within every group of people some become friends and others don't. I think drivers are professionals who know what it takes to get the job done. Friendships are probably secondary on the track and I've heard drivers comment on how they drive differently when running with some drivers. Rivalries aren't important to me - but they can be entertaining and they can also detract from the racing.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Quit parking these drivers next to each other in the motor-home lot. Their kids play together in the confines of the motor-home lot. They go to church together. They hang out with each other. Drivers hang out with other drivers. Wives are friends. Get rid of that and then let the Type 'A' personalities conflict like they should.
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I agree. I have heard Petty say that he and Bobby Allison didnt like each other, they respected each other but that is were it ended. Not pals, not teammates very few common bonds. I bet they was not pals with DW either.
 
I am sorry we are not going to get to see Kez vs Gordon more than 1 more year.
 
Greg said:
I agree. I have heard Petty say that he and Bobby Allison didnt like each other, they respected each other but that is were it ended. Not pals, not teammates very few common bonds. I bet they was not pals with DW either.
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In those days a teammate was just another competitor that you had to beat. Maybe a little easier to steal info from , but not anybody you wanted to help.
 
Greg said:
I agree. I have heard Petty say that he and Bobby Allison didnt like each other, they respected each other but that is were it ended. Not pals, not teammates very few common bonds. I bet they was not pals with DW either.
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I've heard several old school drivers day the same thing.
 
Greg said:
I agree. I have heard Petty say that he and Bobby Allison didnt like each other, they respected each other but that is were it ended. Not pals, not teammates very few common bonds. I bet they was not pals with DW either.
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lots of good articles about the petty/allison feud because it was long lasting and intense. one of my favorites because it is most complete:

http://racefansforever.weebly.com/50-years-of-nascar-racing--the-pettyallison-feud-post-8.html

another thing to note when you do a search on nascar rivalries: most of the best were based on newcomers encroaching on veterans hard earned turf.

parting shot: although the Gordon/Earnhardt rivalry is touted, i'm pretty sure it was more about us fans than the drivers themselves. those two seemed to have a mutual respect for each other. might not have been the same if jeff had come along ten years earlier. but I think dale was fairly comfortable with his position in the sport at that time.

jmo
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Texting ruined everything. Before, the next time a driver talked to their rival was on the track the following week. That built some animosity. Now, they can apologize on twitter & texting.
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Yep, them blasted cell phones have ruined the young folks, heck when I was a kid I used to go outside and play
 
Greg said:
I agree. I have heard Petty say that he and Bobby Allison didnt like each other, they respected each other but that is were it ended. Not pals, not teammates very few common bonds. I bet they was not pals with DW either.
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I dont like anybody but I respect several people
 
klemmabyna said:
lots of good articles about the petty/allison feud because it was long lasting and intense. one of my favorites because it is most complete:

http://racefansforever.weebly.com/50-years-of-nascar-racing--the-pettyallison-feud-post-8.html

another thing to note when you do a search on nascar rivalries: most of the best were based on newcomers encroaching on veterans hard earned turf.

parting shot: although the Gordon/Earnhardt rivalry is touted, i'm pretty sure it was more about us fans than the drivers themselves. those two seemed to have a mutual respect for each other. might not have been the same if jeff had come along ten years earlier. but I think dale was fairly comfortable with his position in the sport at that time.

jmo
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Excellent post and link.
 
klemmabyna said:
lots of good articles about the petty/allison feud because it was long lasting and intense. one of my favorites because it is most complete:

http://racefansforever.weebly.com/50-years-of-nascar-racing--the-pettyallison-feud-post-8.html

another thing to note when you do a search on nascar rivalries: most of the best were based on newcomers encroaching on veterans hard earned turf.

parting shot: although the Gordon/Earnhardt rivalry is touted, i'm pretty sure it was more about us fans than the drivers themselves. those two seemed to have a mutual respect for each other. might not have been the same if jeff had come along ten years earlier. but I think dale was fairly comfortable with his position in the sport at that time.

jmo
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I agree , Dale wouldn't give an inch on the track , but off the track he had time for all of the other drivers (with the possible exception of Bodine) . He was a practical joker , a tease , and a humanitarian . I think his fans thought he was a whole lot meaner than he really was.
 
Kyle18fan said:
Yep, them blasted cell phones have ruined the young folks, heck when I was a kid I used to go outside and play
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